Professor Abraham
Here we are, in the middle of the jungle, searching for her.
We have decided to drive a car this time around, as it would help us cover more ground.
We have been driving for over thirty minutes now, but we still haven't seen a sign of her.
We have set up a two-party search group so as to cover more ground in less time.
As the driver was busy skating through the land, I kept looking every which way, but I still couldn't see a sign of her.
It is already dark, as it is, with only a faint glow of the sun visible. And soon, all the night animals would be out, ready to hunt, and not just the wild animals; there are other animals lurking around as well.
Just the thought of her falling into their trap made me feel nervous as hell.
"Stop the car," I say.
He quickly stopped the car.
"Have you seen her, sir?" he asks.
"No, but I'm going into the jungle to look," I answered as I was trying to open the car.
"That's not possible, sir; we can't let you do that; it's very dangerous," one of the instructors sitting behind argues.
There are actually three of us here. I, the driver, and another instructor
"But I have to; what if she's in there?" I say.
"I know there's a possibility, sir, but if she's in there, then it's hopeless for us to go search for her again."
"And why is that?" I ask him, starting to feel agitated.
"You know very well that she might have encountered..."
"No, she is alive and well, and I am going to find her, period." I cut him off.
I just can't bear the thought of losing her, ever.
How could I continue living when I knew that I had been careless with her life?
"That's not what I meant, sir. I know she is your wife and you worry about her, but don't forget, the safety of the other students also lies in your hands," he says.
"And she is also my student, which also makes her safety a priority to me," I say.
He tries to argue more, but I cut him off.
"Listen here, I am going in; you can continue driving to see if you can find her up ahead, and in the next one, I'll meet you right back here if I don't see her in there," I say.
I think that's fair enough.
I dropped them out of the car and waved them off.
"Take care, sir, and if you need any backup, just call us," he says.
I nodded, and I watched them drive away before I walked into the jungle with my torch on.
I kept on walking in, but so far, I didn't see any sign of animals or even humans in their remains. Not even a sign of struggle was seen.
I tried to look for any human footsteps around, but I could not even find any.
Maybe she didn't even follow this way, I thought.
I wonder where she could have gone and what was happening to her.
I just gave her one instruction, and that was to keep that ring on her finger all the time, but she disobeyed, and now here's where he has landed.
I guess I have to be a little strict with her from now on. Forget about all those conditions she laid; I am not ever going to keep her out of sight until after this field trip.
She can sue me to death after that if she wishes so; I don't care.
I kept on searching, but I didn't see any sign of life.
Just then, I felt some footsteps, and I stopped in my tracks.
For all it's worth, it might be a wild animal.
**********
Nina
"Mnafanya nini hapa?" A voice came from nowhere. (What are you guys doing here?)
We all turned in the direction where the voice was coming from.
Five men appeared from where we heard the voice, and from the looks of things, the men I'm with recognized them.
One of the men got up and walked up to them.
"Umechukua muda gani?" the man says to them. (What took you so long?)
"Kwa nini uliacha?" Another man says: (Why did you stop?)
"Tuliona huyu bibi amekwama hapa na haelewi lugha yetu, ikabidi tusubiri uje," he says, pointing at me. (We saw this lady stranded here, and she doesn't understand our language, so we had to wait for you to come.)
One thing's for sure: they are talking about me.
"Mike," the one man, calls out a name.
A young man, who is fair in complexion, came forward. I just sat there, inspecting him.
He is tall, and his body is also muscle-built. He is also fairer in complexion than the rest of the men.
"Kuna nini?" he spoke in their language. (What's the matter?)
I didn't portray him as being of the same race as them.
The other man points at me.
The guy named Mike walks over to me in long steps. Soon, he was in front of me.
He sat beside me just like the other man did.
He looked at me and waved.
I wave back at him, not knowing what to say to him.
"Hi," he says.
Hearing the word hi from another being made me feel like dancing. I also felt like hugging him, but I stopped myself.
"What's your name?" he asks.
To my surprise, my English is also as fluent as that of an Englishman.
"I am Nina," I say, and my smile widens.
"Alisema anatoka wapi?" one of the men says. (Where did she say she's from?)
"Nakuja," he answers back. (I'm coming).
Finally, I want to know what they are saying, and it seems like I have found a translator as well.
"What's he saying?" I ask.
"He was asking where you're from," he says.
"Uhmm, I'm from California, and I came here for a field trip, and now I'm lost," I say.
"So, where are you headed to?" he asks.
"Uhmm, Rhino Ridge, that's right, Rhino Ridge," I answer.
"Can you guide me in the right direction, please? I have lost my map." I ask politely.
"Oh! We are also heading that way as well," he says, and his smile widens.
"You are?" I ask, as if not able to believe it.
"Alisema nini?" one of the other men says. (What did she say?)
"Anaelekea kwenye tuta la vifaru," he answers. (She's heading to rhino ridge.)
"Kweli, huko ndiko tunakoelekea, anapaswa kuja nasi," he says. (Well, that's where we're headed; she should come with us.)
I just kept looking at them in adoration as they talked in a language I did not understand.
I have always imagined myself talking with someone in a language that no one understands. It's so cool.
He turns to me and is caught staring at them, and I'm sure he saw the adoration in my eyes before I looked away.
"Come on, let's get going then; it's getting dark," he says.
I quickly got up from the rock and stretched myself.
I really didn't think that I would be destined to get up from this rock today, but here I am, all thanks to these people, and mostly this guy here named Mike.
"Thanks," I say to him and to the rest. I bow to them, and they seem to have understood my sign language this time around, and they all smile at me.
"Haya, twende," the man who seems to be their leader says. (Come on, let's get going.)
I thought so because he was the one who had done most of the talking since they arrived.
With that, we strode away from the place that would have been my last destination on earth.
**********
Professor Abraham
I just stood there, ready for the predator to come out.
It's not like I could fight it off, but running away would be the stupidest thing to do.
There might be a possibility that the predator hasn't seen or caught my scent yet, but if I make any hasty movements, it sure will hunt me down.
The ruffles kept on growing closer, and soon, whatever it may be, they could be out of the bushes.
There it was—a galago and a little own at that. It seems to have been lost. It started at me with its wide eyes and didn't move, and I also didn't make any move towards it. I don't know if its mother is close, and it will try to attack me, thinking I am trying to harm its baby.
They are nocturnal animals, so they are active during the night.
Just then, a shrill whistle came from the bushes, and the baby galago started shrilling loudly, probably calling out to its mother.
Not long after that, the mother came into view as well.
It stopped in its tracks as it saw me. It gave me a suspicious look, as if trying to figure out if I was trying to harm its child, but I still didn't move.
When it was sure that I was not a threat, it pulled its child and ran back into the bushes.
I let out a sigh of relief. At least it wasn't something dangerous.
I checked my wrist watch to see that the one-hour time frame that I gave was over.
Surely, they must be waiting for me.
With that, it turned back and started heading back to where I could be.
The car was waiting for me when I reached it.
"Have you found her?" I asked, and they shook their heads, making my heart heavy.
They do not need to ask to know that I didn't find her as well.
I stepped into the car, and we drove back. The curfews will start soon.
Wherever she is, I do hope she is safe.